NHS computer system is in chaos, warn MPs

The NHS's new IT system is in a state of chaos, an influential group of MPs will warn tomorrow. The Public Accounts Committee will use a key hearing to question leading figures in the NHS as they attempt to quantify the problems confronting Connecting for Health, the project to electronically link every GP's surgery and hospital in England and provide online records for up to 50 million patients.

Although all hospitals in England and Wales were supposed to have had patient care record systems installed by the end of 2006, only 34 out of 169 have received the systems and of these 21 are of an older, now outdated system.

The new versions are costing millions of pounds to install and often have less functionality. NHS trusts report they are having to employ dozens of extra staff to manage their day-to-day business and there have been cases of some trusts losing patients' data.

David Nicholson, chief executive of the NHS and Gordon Hextall, head of Connecting for Health, will face intense questioning. The committee is keen to discuss a recent report by the National Audit Office that found the system had been affected by 807 'severe' incidents in the last six months of 2007.

A Connecting for Health official said the system had 'technical issues which are being resolved'.